In cataract surgery, the practice is to remove the cataractous natural lens and replace it with a man-made lens. The replacement lens is placed inside the natural capsular bag of the natural human lens. Such replacement of the natural lens by artificial intraocular lens is discussed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,476,514 and 5,047,051.
The present invention represents improvements over my above-mentioned patents relative to the fixation or anchoring of the lens haptics in the bag, thereby overcoming certain potential disadvantages of plate haptic lenses. My U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,051 discloses a method of fixing a haptic plate in the capsular bag by means of mini-loops at the ends of haptic anchor plates. This enables the bag to fibrose about the loops to fix the lens in the bag.
In such procedures, plate haptic lenses without loops or fixation means can only be implanted in an intact capsular bag with a continuous circular capsulotomy. Such plate haptic lenses, if placed into a capsular bag having a tear in the anterior capsular rim or posterior capsule, can dislocate with resultant serious complication of the surgery.
During the healing and fibrosis process, the anterior capsule rim becomes fused to the posterior capsule by fibrosis, and a plate haptic with an appendage thereof is retained in position by a pocket or tunnel defined by the fibrosis about the haptic or appendage portions between the anterior capsular rim and the posterior capsule.